You don’t have time for marketing? You’re getting on ok, aren’t you? I mean, your head’s above water? So you get a bit busy around Christmas and you don’t have quite as many customers as you’d like. But you haven’t got any more TIME to do a single thing!
Sounds familiar?
Well, can I ask you about your marketing strategy? What’s that, you don’t have one? You don’t really know what one is and what it can do for you? Ahhh… get ready to be astounded and amazed. Because a good, solid marketing strategy can not only get you more customers (and ones that are perfect for you). It can also SAVE YOU TIME!
Sounds good? Well let me explain why you need a marketing strategy in your life…
It can get you more of your perfect customers
You know those dream clients? The ones you love working with? The ones that just get you, they love your products and they’re make your life so easy?! Well, what if your business was filled with those clients? What if you had lots of them knocking on your door wanting your jewellery?
Well a good marketing strategy can do that for you. A good marketing strategy will help you create a cohesive brand which will attract your dream clients. They will see your social media, your website, your products and instantly know it’s for them.
Not only that, a good marketing strategy will repel the people that aren’t a good fit for your brand. If this sounds counter-intuitive, then stay with me.
Do you ever have customers who aren’t quite sure if you’re for them? They ask a lot of questions, are time-consuming to deal with and create a lot of stress. Well these people are not the right fit for your brand. The trouble is, if you don’t have an effective marketing strategy, these people just don’t realise that! By having a consistent brand that connects with the right people and repels the wrong people, it makes everyone’s life so much easier!
Just have a think about the brands you’re drawn to personally. What is it about them that you love? I bet it’s not just the product. It will also be their brand identity, their ethos and so much more. Now think about brands that you instinctively don’t like. What is it about them that you don’t like? Isn’t it funny how you just know that they’re not right for you?!
A strategy can save you time
Yes, a marketing strategy might take a bit of time to put together right at the start. But doing some really good thinking about your brand up front will save you so much time in the long run. Ever procrastinated about what colour or font to use on a banner? How long did it take you. Now, be honest!
By really focusing on your brand at the start and what it stands for, you can set rules for things in your brand – like your look and feel. This will not only make sure it appeals to your dream customer, it will also save you time on faffing about trying to decide what to do.
You can also create a structured social media plan off the back of the strategy, which will enable you to batch produce your social media posts, and save even more time!
And as well as saving you time, it can also clear your headspace. Then can concentrate on other more exciting things and not be constantly bogged down in the details. Like making and designing jewellery. And drinking tea.
It can set you up so you’re ready to outsource
If you’re growing your business, there may come a point that you need to think about taking on someone to help you. You might be at that point right now. And, very often, it’s the social media, the blog writing, and the newsletter writing that gets outsourced to someone else.
And here’s the thing. If you don’t set out a clear strategy from the get-go, how is that person going to know how to write and act in a way that is consistent to your brand? It’s all very well with all the information being in your head – you know your own brand inside out! But if someone else comes along who isn’t so familiar with it, what happens then?
Without any guidelines (which would be part of your marketing strategy), it’s very hard for an outsider to really ‘get’ your brand. The result? A series of off-brand social media posts, which don’t appeal to your customer, and your marketing will suffer. And not because the person you’ve hired isn’t good at their job. But simply because you’ve not set out your marketing strategy right at the start.
And maybe you never plan to outsource. But what happens if you’re ill, you go on maternity leave or you just plain old need a holiday?! Wouldn’t it be great to have a marketing strategy to make all these things easier?